Resource development, a principal economic driver of the Northwest Territories' (NWT) economy, is getting a $5.1 million boost in federal funding.
The Government of Canada is investing in two projects that will support resource development in the Slave Geological Province (SGP), an area where the territory's three operating diamond mines are located.
New mining projects are expected to inject new life in Canada's far north, and the Yukon Territories and Nunavut are projected to surpass the rest of Canada by 2020. The NWT is set to benefit from the growth the mines in Nunavut and the Yukon will bring.
This new funding will go towards the planning of an all-season access corridor into the SGP as well as aerial geophysical surveys of the region. The surveys will lead to the development of mapping products used by mineral exploration companies to target their activity.
Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources made the announcement during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto.
"Knowing where mineral deposits exist and being able to access them is the first step in attracting investment and growing the resource development sector. We know that similar projects in NWT in the past have led to significant economic development activity," said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and the Minister responsible for CanNor.
"These projects are building on that success. The Government of Canada is committed to the creation of more good jobs, more economic growth and long-term sustainable development in the North."